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The Chicago Cubs will return to their home park of Wrigley Field for their 2025 home opener on Friday, April 4 to kick off a three-game weekend series against the San Diego Padres.
Like every Friday contest at Wrigley Field this year, the game has a 1:20 p.m. CT start time. The Cubs enter their first home series of the season coming off a series sweeo over the Athletics in Sacramento with Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki each putting up big early-season numbers. Returning to Chicago will feel nice after opening the year on a seven-game West Coast road trip to start the 2025 campaign.
Left-hander Shota Imanaga gets the ball in the home opener for the Cubs, opposite San Diego righty Randy Vásquez. On Saturday, it'll be the Padres' Nick Pivetta opposite southpaw Matthew Boyd, who is making his first home start as a member of the team. The series concludes Sunday afternoon with hard-throwing righty Ben Brown starting against lefty Kyle Hart.
The good news is Chicago will avoid the likes of Dylan Cease this time around. The right-hander has emerged as one of the most reliable starting pitchers in the league in recent years. Cease is a likely trade candidate this year with his contract expiring after the 2025 campaign. The Cubs have been linked to Cease trade rumors all offseason and there is always the chance a reunion takes place if the Cubs find themselves in the playoff hunt come the July 31 trade deadline.
Michael King is another San Diego hurler we won't see in the series who could find himself playing for Chicago this year. Like Cease, King is playing on an expiring contract after turning in a breakout season in 2024 with 201 strikeouts and a 2.95 ERA in 173 2/3 innings pitched.
2025 Cubs Home Opener: The path to October runs through Wrigley Field
The Cubs have won three straight home openers against the Colorado Rockies in 2024 and the Milwaukee Brewers in 2023 and 2022. Team pressident of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and his front office have assembled the most talented roster in recent years after acquiring a top-15 bat in outfielder Kyle Tucker. Hoyer himself could also be playing for his job as his deal with the Cubs only lasts through 2025. The team will need to play well at home this year if the Friendly Confines are to play host to postseason baseball this fall. It all starts this weekend against the Friars.